Archive: August, 2012

Bob Vetrone Jr.

Friday, August 31, 2012, 11:58 PM

(We post a baseball trivia question every Saturday, just for fun, as well as a detailed answer, stats, charts and commentary on the previous week's question. Pass along your questions, thoughts and ideas to boopstats@phillynews.com.)
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION
Who was the last player to win the American...
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Bob Vetrone Jr.

Thursday, August 30, 2012, 1:39 AM

Ryan Howard's comeback is now 44 games in, and he has shown improvement over the last few weeks.
For instance, he has a .282 batting average, a .538 slugging percentage and 20 RBI in his last 20 games. Those are vastly better than the numbers he put up over his first 24 games of 2012:
G
...
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Bob Vetrone Jr.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 1:29 AM

Darin Ruf launched his 37th home run for the Reading Phillies Tuesday (left), tying a club record set by Ryan Howard in 2004. But keep in mind that Howard was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on July 30 and he cranked another nine homers in 29 games with the Red Barons.
Ruf, who Monday broke...
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Bob Vetrone Jr.

Monday, August 27, 2012, 5:36 PM

Although he has a limited number of victories, one thing Cliff Lee has not struggled with this season is his control. Once again, he is among baseball's best in fewest walks per nine innings.
His status among major league BB/9IP leaders (2012 statistics through Sunday):
Season
IP
BB
BB/9IP...
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Bob Vetrone Jr.

Sunday, August 26, 2012, 12:00 AM

Last season, for the first time in their history, the Eagles had three players who each gained more than 800 yards receiving. And since Jason Avant was fourth on the team with 679, they fell just 121 yards of becoming the first team in National Football League history with four 800-yard receivers....
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Bob Vetrone Jr.

Saturday, August 25, 2012, 12:00 AM

(We post a baseball trivia question every Saturday, just for fun, as well as a detailed answer, stats, charts and commentary on the previous week's question. Pass along your questions, thoughts and ideas to boopstats@phillynews.com.)
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION
Who was the last switch-hitter to win the...
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Bob Vetrone Jr.

Friday, August 24, 2012, 2:38 AM

Hall of Famer Steve van Buren is the only Eagle to lead the NFL in rushing yards (he did so four times) and he was also the league's career rushing leader for the better part of nine seasons.
Below is the progression of the NFL's career rushing leader.
Also, take a look at van Buren's 10-game touchdown...
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Bob Vetrone Jr.

Friday, August 24, 2012, 12:00 AM

When Kyle Kendrick takes the mound Friday night against the Nationals, here's hoping Brian Schneider is just 60 feet, six inches away.
Those two have constituted the Phillies' starting battery in 10 starts over the last two seasons. In those games, Kendrick is 8-2, with a 1.25 ERA and is holding opponents...
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Bob Vetrone Jr.

Thursday, August 23, 2012, 2:50 AM

This one is quite simple — the Phillies have never lost a game against the Cincinnati Reds that Cole Hamels started. Period. Ten-and-oh.
Among those 10 starts are Hamel's career-high strikeout game (15), the fifth highest-scoring game in Phillies history (22-1) and a playoff-clinching masterpiece...
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Boop – who goes by Bob Vetrone Jr. when he is undercover or paying bills – has been at the Daily News since 1982, after working for five years at the Philadelphia Bulletin up to its closing. Along with helping to build the sports scoreboards most nights, he has had great input into the papers’ special sports pullouts – March Madness, Broad Street Run, Record Breakers, Greatest Moments – as well as its day-to-day, award-winning event coverage.

A 1980 graduate of North Catholic, he took some evening college courses. Those lasted right up until the first conflict with a Big 5 doubleheader.

His favorite books growing up were the NBA Guide and the Baseball Encyclopedia, which was, for all intents and purposes, the Internet before there was an Internet.

He has been immersed in sports statistics since the early 70s, when his father (long-time sports writer, broadcaster and the Daily News’ Buck The Bartender), would take him into the Bulletin newsroom overnight in the summer and let him update the Phillies statistics in a little, black spiral notebook. But things have changed tremendously in the decades since … He now uses a big, black spiral notebook.